Granted, sometimes it's a legitimate, albeit cold, way of saying something had to be done for the good of the business.

Other times, however, the "business decision" verbiage is employed to provide a sort of mental buffer for those making the decisions. ("It's not personal; it's business.") You see, rarely do those "business decisions" happen in a vacuum. Almost without fail those business decisions end up having a tremendous personal impact on individuals within, and even outside, that organization.

Organizations would do well to resist the urge to insulate themselves from thoughts of how their decisions are affecting the people within the organization. It's too easy, I think, for organizations to simply say something is a business decision and then go on about their day, not giving a second thought to how that business decision is affecting people, their thoughts, their families, their creativity, their motivation, their ability to function at a high level.

"Business decisions" are rarely just that. They have a deep personal impact, and we'd do well as organizations to give that impact proper consideration.